Technical Manager (WiFi SME)

Spectraforce; Columbus (OH); On-site; USD 62,000 - 69,000; Full time

Job summary

SPECTRAFORCE seeks a Technical Manager to act as the Wi-Fi SME and provide technical leadership across Operations, Telemetry, Design, Compliance, DAS, and CX. You will set direction, guide complex problems, and ensure engineering quality while partnering with the Service Delivery Manager who handles governance and people admin.

You will own technical excellence, staying current with Wi‑Fi standards, 6E/7, private 5G, and AIOps, and guide incident resolution and design reviews across regions.

Qualifications

• 8+ years in enterprise Wi-Fi design, engineering, and operations.
• Experience leading teams of 10+ engineers in a managed-services or global setting.
• Expert knowledge of 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi 5/6/6E/7), RF design and WLAN security.
• Hands-on with major platforms (Cisco, Aruba, Juniper Mist, Ruckus) and tools like Ekahau or AirMagnet.
• Strong understanding of wired/WAN networking, TCP/IP, VLANs, DHCP/DNS, and QoS.
• Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis skills and ability to explain complex topics to execs.
• Ability to communicate technical topics to both technical and executive audiences.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the senior Wi-Fi SME for client and delivery team across standards, RF, WLAN architecture and security.
• Provide direction to the 14-person team and ensure work adheres to standards and best practices.
• Act as Level 3 escalation point for incidents, problems, and outages.
• Review and approve technical changes, designs, and root cause analyses before Client delivery.
• Stay current with Wi‑Fi 6E/7, private 5G, and AIOps; advise on adoption.
• Guide engineers on troubleshooting, design, and operational practice with coaching.
• Assess skills gaps; work with SDM and Design Architect on uplift plans.
• Allocate work and ensure follow-the-sun handovers; input to performance reviews.
• Build a culture of rigor, knowledge sharing and continuous learning.
• Own the technical quality of service delivery including incident resolution and change success.
• Drive RCAs and permanent fixes with CX and Operations; ensure accurate runbooks and docs.
• Work with Telemetry Engineer on monitoring and health scoring reflecting user experience.
• Oversee firmware, patching, and lifecycle management.
• Partner with Design Architect to align architecture strategy and standards.
• Ensure designs comply with Compliance and Data Quality controls and DAS integration.
• Represent the team in Client meetings, design forums, and incident reviews.
• Engage with vendors on roadmaps, support cases, and escalations.
• Support SDM in service reviews and technical solutioning.

Skills

Wi-Fi design/engineering

Team leadership

Technical problem solving

Communication to executives

Networking knowledge (TCP/IP, VLANs, D

Tools

Ekahau

AirMagnet

Job description

We are seeking a Technical Manager to act as the subject matter expert (SME) in Wi-Fi technology and to bring technical leadership to a team of 14 people. You will set the technical direction for the team, guide complex problem solving, and ensure the quality of engineering and operational work across Operations, Telemetry, Design, Compliance, DAS, and CX functions. You work in partnership with the Service Delivery Manager, who owns governance and people administration, while you own technical excellence.

Responsibilities:

Technical leadership and subject matter expertise

• Serve as the senior Wi-Fi SME for the Client and the delivery team, covering 802.11 standards, RF, WLAN architecture, wireless security, and vendor platforms
• Provide technical direction and guidance across the team of 14, and make sure work follows agreed standards and best practice
• Act as the Level 3 escalation point for complex incidents, problems, and major outages
• Review and approve technical changes, designs, and root cause analyses before they reach the Client
• Stay current with emerging technologies such as Wi-Fi 6E/7, private 5G, and AIOps, and advise on adoption

Team technical management

• Guide engineers on troubleshooting, design, and operational practice, and provide coaching and mentoring
• Assess technical skills and capability gaps, and work with the Service Delivery Manager and Design Architect on skills uplift and certification plans
• Allocate technical work based on skills and priorities, and ensure effective follow-the-sun handovers
• Provide technical input to performance reviews for team members
• Build a culture of technical rigor, knowledge sharing, and continuous learning

Service quality and operations

• Own the technical quality of service delivery, including incident resolution, problem management, and change success
• Drive root cause analysis and permanent fixes for recurring issues, with the CX and Operations teams
• Ensure runbooks, knowledge articles, and technical documentation are accurate and current
• Work with the Telemetry Engineer to make sure monitoring, health scoring, and dashboards reflect true user experience
• Oversee technical risk and support firmware, patching, and lifecycle management

Architecture and standards alignment

• Partner with the Design Architect to put architecture strategy and standards into practice
• Ensure designs, configurations, and deployments comply with standards and with controls set by the Compliance and Data Quality function
• Provide technical oversight of DAS coordination and its integration with the Wi-Fi strategy

Client and vendor engagement

• Represent the technical team in Client meetings, design forums, and major incident reviews
• Engage with vendors on roadmaps, support cases, and escalations
• Support the Service Delivery Manager in service reviews, proposals, and technical solutioning

Required:

• 8+ years of experience in enterprise Wi-Fi design, engineering, and operations, with deep SME-level knowledge
• Experience technically leading teams of 10 or more engineers, ideally in a managed-services or global environment
• Expert knowledge of 802.11 standards (Wi-Fi 5/6/6E/7), RF design, and WLAN security (WPA3, 802.1X/RADIUS)
• Hands-on experience with at least one major platform (Cisco, Aruba, Juniper Mist, Ruckus, or similar) and tools such as Ekahau or AirMagnet
• Strong understanding of wired and WAN networking, TCP/IP, VLANs, DHCP/DNS, and QoS
• Strong troubleshooting and root cause analysis skills
• Ability to communicate complex technical topics to both technical and executive audiences

Preferred:

• CWNP certifications (CWNA, CWAP, CWDP, CWSP, CWNE), CCNP/CCIE Wireless, or ACMX
• ITIL Foundation or ITIL 4 certification
• Experience with telemetry, analytics, and automation (Python, APIs)
• Experience in follow-the-sun or multi-region operating models
• Familiarity with DAS and in-building cellular environments

Years of Experience: 12 Years of Experience

For information on benefits, equal opportunity employment, and location-specific applicant notices.

At SPECTRAFORCE, we are committed to maintaining a workplace that ensures fair compensation and wage transparency in adherence with all applicable state and local laws.This position's pay range is $45.00/hr - $50.00/hr.